Seclusion
by NoNameNeeded
Summary: Naruto's life is now perfect. He has a beautiful wife and daughter, he's the Hokage and has now an unexpentant ally. But then, Sasuke shows up and warns them that if they don't surrender then there will be no mercy. DISCONTINUED
1. Introduction

An Odd Alliance

The Hokage sat by his desk, working through the mountains of paperwork which he had to do. It was dark outside and the moon was full with not a single cloud in the sky. The village was quiet for once.

_Knock, knock…_

"Enter." The Hokage said without looking up from his paper work. In came a woman in her late twenties. She had long indigo hair, pale skin and her eyes were white with a hint of lilac in.

"Naruto-kun, isn't it about time you come home to bed. It is getting very late. Besides, I miss you." She said as she walked over to the Hokage.

"I miss you too Hinata-kun. But I need to get this paper work done." He said before giving her one of his cheeky-fox-grins.

"Hm… You really give this village everything you got, don't you." She said quietly.

"Yes, I suppose I do, as it is my duty to do so." He stopped writing and looked up at his wife. "So, is Tsuki asleep yet." He asked before he placed Hinata on his lap.

"Yes, she's sound asleep." She then leaned in and gave him a peck on the cheek. "But I really do wish that you would come home tonight." She said in an almost pleading voice.

"Hm… Give me half an hour and I shall be done by then." He said as he gave her a kiss on the lips before she stood up to allow him to carry on with the damned paperwork.

"Alright, but not a second longer. I'll be waiting outside for you." She said, smiling as she walked out of the door.

_**Half and hour later…**_

As Hinata was standing outside, she noticed someone leaving the building. She immediately recognized him and she ran over to greet him with a hug. 

"Whoa, easy now. I said I'd be out in half an hour. I don't break a promise." He then took her up into his arms, so that she was in a bridal carrying position. They then had a long kiss before Naruto started using his speed to get them both home in no time. 

As they entered their house, they noticed that their daughter was standing in the hall, with one hand covering her mouth as she yawned. 

"Tsuki, what are you doing up this late, I thought you were asleep." The couple said as they rushed towards her to pick her up.

"I had another nightmare." She said in a sleepy and scared voice.

"Oh Tsuki, We're so sorry we weren't here, but I needed to get your father home from that office of his." Hinata said as she cradled Tsuki in her arms.

"It is all my fault, I was working late again." Naruto said as he started to stroke his hands through his daughters indigo hair. He then gave her a kiss on the forehead before suggesting, "How about I take you upstairs into bed and tell you a story? Would you like that, hm?"

Tsuki's eyes grew bright at what she just heard her father say. "Yes please, father." She said as she leapt form her mother's arms into her father's. Naruto turned to face Hinata, "I'll meet you in the bedroom." He then turned around and started his way up the stairs towards his daughter's room.

_**About 15 minutes later…**_

Naruto entered the bedroom yawning, to find that his wife was already asleep in their bed. He thought to himself, _I can't blame her, look at the time._ He then took off his clothes, apart from his underwear, and lay down next to his wife, putting an arm round her.

_**The next morning…**_

When Naruto woke up, he walked over to his closet to put on his outfit. He didn't wear what the previous Hokages' had worn. Instead, he wore long black trousers, which had many hidden compartments, which were not visible, a red sleeveless shirt, which had the sign of the Hokage in white on the front, black ninja sandals and he wore a black cape which also had the sign of the Hokage in white, but on the back. His hair was now long, he had it in a ponytail which reached halfway down his back. His physical appearance was incredibly similar to the fourth Hokage, you would have thought that they were twins.

Just as he had finished putting his clothes on, Hinata woke up. "Are you already heading off to work?" She said sleepily.

"No, no. I'm taking this morning off. As you know, it is Tsuki's first day at the academy. I wouldn't want to miss it." He said with a proud smile filling his face.

"Don't you think she is too young to start in the pre-genin class, I mean everyone else will be older then her." Hinata said as she sat up.

"No, I believe she can do it. She has been working extremely hard. Her strength and fighting are high, far above average, so I see no point in letting her wait until she'll be the same age as the rest in her class. I thinks she deserves to be with classmates who are at similar standards as her. Don't you think?" He said, tuning around. Hinata then stood up and walked up to her husband, putting both arms around him as he did the same to her. They then kissed before Hinata said, "I know you're right, I just hope that the other kids won't think that she is getting special advantages as she is your daughter. Even though I know she is good enough to be there." She then finished and kissed Naruto again. 

_Knock, knock…_

"Come in." The couple said at the same time.

"Mum, dad, I made you both breakfast." Tsuki said as she poked her head around the door smiling.

"Really, when did you learn to cook?" Naruto said in surprise.

"I've been teaching her. I thought it would be useful." Hinata answered. With that, all three went into the kitchen and sat down at the table. After a while, they had all finished eating.

"Mm, that was very good, just as good as Ramen, in fact." Hinata and Tsuki chuckled at this as they knew how much Naruto adored Ramen. 

"Really? You mean it?" Tsuki said standing up, a tear of joy appearing in her eye. She knew that her father had just given her a compliment, and a good one at that.

"Yes, I really do. Now, you better hurry up and get ready for your first day at the academy. You don't want to be late." As soon as he was finished saying this, Tsuki was already gone. She had inherited Naruto's speed. 

'_**That is some kid you got there kit.'**__ Kyuubi said. 'It sure is Kyuubi, she is very strong.' __**'She still hasn't activated her gift yet, so she still isn't anywhere near as powerful as she will become' **__'Her gift? What are you talking about Kyuubi. What have you been up to?' __**Oh you'll soon find out.'**_And with that, their conversation ended.

Tsuki was now back downstairs. "Come on, we're going now Tsuki." Said Naruto.

"You're coming?" Tsuki said grinning at her father.

"Yes, and so is your mother. We wouldn't want to miss it." He said as both Hinata and him grabbed Tsuki's hands. So all three started their way to the academy.

_**At the academy…**_

Nearly everyone was present in the classroom. Iruka had also arrived not long ago. Everyone was chatting, that is, until the door opened and everyone saw who was standing in the doorway.

"Well, well. If it isn't my old students. Class, please welcome Uzumaki Naruto, the Hokage and Hyuuga Hinata, his wife. Oh and of course, their daughter, and your classmate, Uzumaki Tsuki." Everyone else were silent as they were speechless at the sight of the three of them. Then a hand was up.

"Yes." Iruka said whilst pointing at the girl who had raised her hand.

"Um, Iruka-sensei, did you really use to teach the Hokage and Lady Hinata." She said in a quiet voice.

"I'll answer that one," Naruto said," Yes, Iruka-sensei was our teacher and is now one of our closest friends. I still do consider him my teacher, even though I don't go to school .anymore. But then again, you're never too old to learn a new trick"

"Wow! Iruka-sensei, why didn't you tell us that you know the Hokage." Everyone said at exactly the same time.

"I guess it just slipped my mind." Was all Iruka had to say. Naruto and Hinata just chuckled at this. "Anyway, Tsuki, why don't you take a seat so we can begin." Hinata and Naruto bent down, each giving Tsuki a kiss, on the cheek, before she turned around to take a seat. The two of them then left the room together, with Hinata hanging onto Naruto's arm. Anyone who saw the two could tell that they were deeply in love.

_**A while later…**_

The two of them had decided to go for a walk through the village, as they hadn't done that for a while. They were still arm in arm. 

As the two were walking, they recognised someone who was working in the flower shop, so they decided to go and greet her.

"Well hello Ino. How have you been?" Naruto said as they entered.

"Hokage-sama, I didn't expect to see you two here. Oh, I'm fine thank you very much." Ino said as she was finishing the bouquet she was making. "So what about you two, you seem to look especially happy today." She said, noticing the wide grin on the two faces.

"Today is Tsuki's first day in the pre-genin class." They both said.

"Already, I thought she was only 9 years old, don't they have to be 11 to go to the academy?" She said.

"Well, yes. But she has advanced so much that we saw no point in her waiting." Jinata stated.

"I see. So how is she by the way?" Ino continued.

"She's good. Thank you for asking. So how's Sai doing? I haven't heard from him in a while." Naruto said.

"He's good. But he's been caught up in his office, working on a new jutsu. You both know how he can be. Anyway, sorry, but I must get going. I have customers waiting. It was nice talking to you." Ino said as she waved them goodbye.

They continued their stroll for about another hour before Naruto had to return to the office. 

_**At the academy…**_

Nearly everyone on the class were talking whilst Iruka was explaining the basics to them on the board. "It seems that you've all lost your concentration. Why don't you all go and have lunch now. And when you get back I expect your full attention." But everyone had already left the classroom before he was finished. Everyone, except for Tsuki. 

"Tsuki, what's on your mind." Iruka sounded worried.

"Oh nothing. It's just that I've heard so many stories about you from my mum and dad. And I've been really excited to meet you. That's all." Tsuki smiled as she saw Iruka's expression change. He was now smiling.

"Hm. I see. So what did they say?"

"Oh lots of things. Like the time when you passed my dad, so that he became a genin. I'm sure I don't need to remind you what happened, and how you were such a good friend to my dad. Also the time when you and my mum had to baby-sit the Hinoiri triplets. I could go on all day, but I know you know all of the stories." Tsuki then started laughing.

"I guess that last one was a funny story." Iruka also started laughing. After a while they both settled down.

"I think you better go and have some lunch before it's finished. Don't be late to class." Iruka waved Tsuki goodbye.


	2. An unexpected meeting

_**In the Hokage's office…**_

'_Why is there so much paper work to do.' __**'I thought this was what you wanted kit.'**__ 'I know, but I don't know how Tsunade or Sarutobi managed to do this for so long.' __**'I'm sure you'll get use to this soon.' **__'I hope so.'__** 'Be quiet, I feel the presence of someone incredibly powerful. He has hidden himself pretty well, the ANBU probably won't notice him.'**__ 'Which direction is he coming from?' __**'Strangely, it seems he's just outside your door.'**_Naruto then sat there, on his guard, ready for an attack.. 

The door opened. 

"You, what are you doing here?!" Naruto said in a demanding voice. The person standing there could feel the killer intent pouring from the Hokage. But he did not wince or show any sign of fear.

"I'm not here to attack you or anyone else for that matter. In fact it is quite the opposite. May I sit down?" He said, motioning to a chair.

"Very well. But tell me; what would you, Itachi, an S-ranked missing-nin be doing here then?" Naruto said, never taking his eye away from Itachi whilst he sat down.

"As you know, I've done something very bad in the past; the killing of my clan. But you do not know the whole story. You see, Orochimaru had placed one of his evil sprits inside of me, making me destroy everyone so that I would gain the final stage of my Sharingan. Luckily, though, I managed to save myself from killing Sasuke. After the incident, I joined the Akatsuki in order to become stronger to get back at Orochimaru. After about a year, I grew tired of being a member and I hated what we did, so I left. After weeks of traveling, I entered a village somewhere in the fire country, I won't say the location. They let me join them and allowed me to live there. I grew fond of the place and I fell in love there. Her name was Sora. I had also made some very close friends, my closest friend's name was Kasai. The village was the home of a single clan, the Uzumaki clan." Itachi paused as he knew that Naruto would have a hard time taking all of this is.

After a while, Naruto motioned for him to carry on. 

"I lived there, I was happy. But it all changed when Orochimaru came. He destroyed the village and everyone living there. You and your father were the only survivors. And I had managed to escape… after Sora had died in my arms… I saw her take her last breath…" A tear started rolling down Itachi's cheek. Naruto was shocked. Itachi had never shown any sign of emotions, let alone cry, also the fact that he had known the Uzumaki clan, and lived with them. "… Orochimaru had ruined my life once again. So I joined the Akatsuki again. There I was full of hate for Orochimaru. I was determined to get him back. I needed to become more powerful… I did everything I could… but then I heard that you were still alive… I began to have hope again…" Itachi stopped and looked straight into Naruto's eyes

"What do you mean you began to have hope again?" Naruto said softly.

Itachi gave a slight smile, then continued. "Sora… she was your cousin… When I heard that you had survived the massacre, I felt some of the hate disappear, forming hope. Hope that things were going to turn out for the better." He said, his eyes glistening.

"…Wait, you said that me and my father had escaped. So you mean you knew who my father was. Is he still alive? What was his name?" Then Itachi's smile faded.

"I'm afraid that your father is dead. He died protecting this very village. His name was Arashi and he was the Hokage." Naruto was shocked. His father… was the Hokage.

"So… why is it that his surname wasn't Uzumaki.?" Naruto said quietly.

"He changed it right after the massacre. For two reasons; one being that he was devastated at what had happened and two, he didn't want anybody to know that he was from the clan, not out of embarrassment, but the fact that he didn't want pity from them also he wanted to start again. And, your mother; she was an Uchiha. She wasn't in the village during my… my time of confusion… but she had died on an S-rank mission. She was a member of the ANBU… Her body was never found." Again Itachi paused. 

"… So… What are you doing here then…" Naruto managed to say, even though he was obviously very upset, and greatful for Itachi.

"I came to offer my services to you. My loyalty, my strength and my life." Itachi said as he stood up and bowed to Naruto. It was just then that Naruto noticed that Itachi wasn't wearing the uniform of the Akatsuki. He was instead wearing black trousers full of pockets, a black t-shirt with a long-sleeved fishnet shirt underneath. He also didn't have his headband on.

"Why are you doing this?" Naruto said as he stood up and walked over towards Itachi.

"Because, Hokage, it is my duty to repay the Uzumaki clan for the kindness which they had given to me. It is also what I feel my heart wants me to do. I also know that I shouldn't have gone to the Akatsuki in order to get my revenge." Itachi carried on looking at the ground.

Naruto thought for a long while. He then motioned for Itachi to stop bowing, which he did. "Very well, but there are a few conditions which you must follow."

"Anything, just tell me what to do." Itachi stated, determination in his voice. 

"First; you will have to take a vow. Second; we have to test your strength, so you'll undergo a test next week. Third; you'll have to be put on probation for a while, for obvious reasons of course. Fourth; you'll have to be kept under watch for a period of time. And then we'll work up from there. Sorry that it'll take so long, but the public can be unstable and such, and so can the counsel once they've found out that you've returned. It'll take a lot of work to convince them not to execute you, but I'll find a way. Oh, and we must find somewhere for you to stay. Hm… you can stay in one of the spare rooms in the ANBU edifice. You'll also have a number of ANBU keep a close eye on you there." Naruto had finished with the planning. "Does that sound good?"

"Yes… thank you very much… you will not regret it." There was a small puddle of water on the ground, indicating that Itachi had been crying throughout Naruto's plans. Naruto then walked out of the door, said something to a guard which was standing outside, then he came back inside. He then placed his hand onto Itachi's shoulder and indicated for him to sit down in the chair.

"You don't have to bow to me." Naruto said teasingly, trying to make Itachi feel a little bit better. Just then, there was a cloud of smoke, and there stood one of the top Jounin and ex-ANBU.

"Kakashi, glad to see you arriving promptly for once." Naruto teased.

"I thought so too." He simply replied. But then he saw Itachi sitting on the chair, so he reached into his pocket to grab a couple of shuriken, or he would have done if Naruto had not stopped him.

"NO, don't. He is not an enemy anymore." Naruto said reassuringly.

Kakashi stared at Naruto with his right eye confused before saying, "What do you mean?" Naruto then started to re-tell the whole story, not leaving out any details. This took about an hour or two. 

"…so Kakashi, I want you to both keep an eye on Itachi and I want you to guard him as well. Oh, and make sure he stays hidden from everyone else. You can probably guess how they'll react to him being here. Understood?"

"Yes." Kakashi simply answered.

"Consider this a personal S-rank mission."

"Yes, of course. Oh and by the way, shouldn't you be getting home. I heard that it was Tsuki's first day in her pre-genin class. I'm sure she's dying to tell you how it went." Kakashi said with an unseen grin on his face, due to his mask. 

Naruto looked at the clock in horror, then shouted, "Oh man you're right. I have to hurry. Good Luck." Naruto said as he was gone in a flash.

"That kid hasn't changed. So Itachi, I think it would be wise if you put this on." Kakashi handed Itachi an ANBU mask and cape. "Just until we get there, then you can take them off again."

"Yes, of course." Itachi bowed before putting the two items on.

_**At the Hokage's house…**_

In a flash, Naruto was in the living room. He saw that his wife and daughter were both asleep on the couch. He smiled at the sight of the two. He then picked up Tsuki and took her up to her room. After putting her on her bed, he tucked her in and kissed her goodnight. He then went back downstairs again so that he could take Hinata and put her in bed as well. When she was in his arms, she stirred before waking up.

"You're late Naruto-kun." She said sleepily.

"I know, and I'm sorry. Something incredibly important just popped up in the office. It had to be taken care of." He said as he was walking up the stairs with Hinata in his arms. 

They then reached their bedroom. Naruto lay Hinata down onto their bed, helping her to get unchanged. Then doing so himself. They then lay together, in each others arms, tiredness getting the best of them. "So, what was it that was so important?" Hinata said as she was yawning.

Naruto sat up. Hinata noticed the expression on his face. "What's wrong Naruto-kun?" She said as she placed a hand on his back and the other on the front of his shoulder. Naruto then looked her in the eye.

"Someone came to me today. One of the last people I expected. It was Uchiha Itachi." Naruto stopped as he could see how shocked she was at what he had just said.

"What did he do to you?" She said with concern in her voice.

"Nothing. Quite the contrary actually. He came to offer his services to me. As I recall, he said that he would give me his loyalty, strength and even his life." Naruto said whilst looking up at the ceiling.

"But why would he do that?" Hinata said, not quite knowing how to react. Naruto then turned to face her and, again, he re-told everything that had just happened. There was then a moments pause before Hinata broke the silence.

"Are you sure you can trust him?" She said, fearing for her loved one's life.

"I know I can trust him. You should have seen the way that he looked at me, the look in his eyes as he spoke about the past. And even more shockingly, he cried. He actually cried. I have never known him to show any sign of emotion… You should trust him as well. But I know it will take a lot of work to get everyone else to trust him. But I'll find a way." Naruto then lay down in the bed again, with Hinata shortly snuggling up in his strong arms. They kissed for a while until they both fell asleep. 


	3. Persuasion and Tsuki's first gift

_**In the Hokage's office...**_

"You'll have to vow your loyalty to the Hokage and the village of Konoha. Then you must sign your name on this contract with your own blood." One of the ANBU captains finished. In the room were the Hokage, about 15 ANBU, 3 ANBU captains, the counsel and Kakashi.

Itachi put a hand up to his heart and said, "I swear my loyalty to the Hokage. However, it is to the Hokage alone. I only serve him." At this, many of the people present tensed up, some placing a hand in their pockets to grab a kunai, but were stopped when Naruto put his hand up. 

"But sir, he will not swear his allegiance to this village, therefore he must be kept as a captive." One of the ANBU argued.

"No. This shall not happen. Itachi shall become my personal body guard." Many of the people present gaped in shock, all except for Kakashi. "I know that the village will not except his presence being here, so I see no reason why he should have anything to do with them. That is why he is to become my personal guard. He has shown me just how much I can trust him, and that I do. I know many of you will not agree with this, but this is not up for discussion." Kakashi just smirked at the fact that his former student was going against the counsel. "Now, Itachi, if you will continue." Naruto said, motioning towards the contract.

"Of course." Itachi bowed before biting his thumb, producing blood. With said blood, he signed the contract before bowing again to Naruto.

"Now, if everyone could leave. Except for Itachi and Kakashi, I wish to talk to you." There was a puff of smoke and everyone else had left.

"Please take a seat." Everyone sat down by the Hokage's desk, which was surprisingly empty of paperwork.

"I see that you've been getting on well with the paperwork." Kakashi teased.

"I swear that all my time is just wasted with the damn paperwork. Actually, I just disguised some of it as the counsel members were here." There was a poof and a large pile of paperwork appeared on the table. Naruto and Kakashi chuckled a bit.

"Itachi, in six days time you will be taking a sparring test against 5 of my ANBU captains. There is only one rule; no killing. This test will be taking place in private, no one must know that you have returned yet." Naruto continued discussing what was to happen that day. Itachi just sat there following through the whole plan without any interruption. "Is that understood?" Naruto said as he had finished. 

"Yes." Itachi replied as he bowed his head down in respect.

"Oh and for the last time, would you stop bowing to me, it is getting slightly annoying and it is irrelevant." Itachi just nodded and sat up. "Kakashi, I want you to take care of him and prepare him for the test. Remember, keep this on the down low." 

"Sure. But before we go, have you heard anything from Jiraiya about a certain book?" 

"Kakashi, you haven't changed a bit. And no, I haven't heard anything about a certain book as I have matters of more importance to take care of. But I do know that Jiraiya will be visiting next week. So you can ask him yourself." Kakashi smiled after hearing the last bit and within a second, both he and Itachi were gone in a puff.

_Hehe… He really hasn't changed…_ Naruto thought to himself as he remembers his past when he was in Team 7. _…Too bad Sasuke hasn't changed either…_ Naruto then got a sad frown on his face as he remembered his many failed attempts at getting Sasuke back and all of the pain which everyone went through when they found out that Sasuke had joined Orochimaru. 

_**Later that day…**_

As he walked through the door of his home, he was met by a strong force which managed to throw him down onto the ground.

"Daddy… You're home early… I missed you!" Tsuki said as she was giving her dad a massive bear hug on the ground.

"I missed you too, but if you don't mind, I'd like to get up." Tsuki quickly stood up and pulled her fathers hand, motioning him to follow.

"Where are you leading me?" Naruto said, laughing a little at his daughter's excitement. 

"I want to show you something that I learnt in school today. Come on daddy, you're walking too slowly." This conversation carried on until the two of them reached Naruto's private training grounds. They were at the back of the estate.

"So, what is it that you can't wait to show me?" Naruto said.

"Look. Iruka has been giving me special training during breaks." She said, her voice full of eagerness and joy.

"Why were you training in break times and not outside playing with your classmates?" Naruto said as he bent down to her eyelevel. Then he noticed sadness appearing in her eyes. "What's wrong Tsuki? You can tell me." Naruto then put a hand to her cheek so that she was looking into his eyes.

"The others don't like me that much. They think that the only reason why I was allowed to begin at the academy early was because that you are the Hokage, they think that I'm getting special treatment or something. They ignore me because they think that I am weak. They don't think that I deserve to be there." A tear was now rolling down her cheek. She was now being picked up by Naruto, and hugged tightly. She buried her head in his chest to cry. Naruto's shirt was soon drenched. 

"Tsuki… Shh… It isn't true… You earned that place… It was thanks to all of your hard work and skill… It has nothing to do with me…" Naruto said, gently rocking her from side to side. "But do you want to know a secret." With that, Tsuki looked up

"Uhuh… yes please." She said, a small smile appearing on her face. Naruto put her down onto the ground before moving his head right up to her ear to whisper.

"You still haven't released your true power yet. It is yet to be unlocked." He said before facing her, smiling, the both of them.

"How do you know, dad?" She asked, obviously confused.

"You know that I am a vessel," Tsuki nodded, "Well, the demon, Kyuubi, who's inside of me, said that you hadn't activated your gift yet. I expect he had something to do with it, so it must be something powerful." Naruto said, whilst radiating pride at having a daughter like Tsuki.

"Is it really true. You mean that I can be really strong?" Tsuki was now hugging Naruto. Pain started emerging in Naruto as he could feel the strength of his daughter. _Man, she has incredible strength… A lot like Tsunade… wander if this is what Kyuubi meant… __**Yes, this is one of the gifts… she has been given incredible strength…**__ I see…. So you're saying that there are more…__** Maybe… You'll soon find out…**_Their conversation then ended as there wasn't enough blood reaching his feet.

"Tsuki… could you please… stop hugging… it's a bit… too tight…" Naruto finished as Tsuki let go.

"Daddy… Are you alright? I didn't hurt you did I?" Tsuki said concerned.

"No, no… well maybe a little… but don't worry. You actually just activated one of your gifts." Naruto said smiling as he sat down on the ground. Tsuki then sat down on his lap.

"What do you mean? What gift." She asked.

"Well… Kyuubi has given you a couple of gifts… So far, he has given you incredible strength, much like the strength of Tsunade, but you won't need to use any chakra." Naruto said grinning. "That why when you hugged me so tightly, I wasn't getting enough blood in my legs. So I suggest that you be careful with your strength."

"Wow… really… oh and sorry… I didn't know." She said apologetically.

"It's ok, now what was it that you were dying to show me?" Naruto said.

Tsuki's face lit up as she quickly got off of her dad's lap and stood up on the ground. She then made some hand signs before there was a poof. Instead of Tsuki standing there, there was a replication of Iruka. 

Naruto was speechless, before he managed to say, "Wow. You already learnt that. After only two days. You really are a fast learner." He then ruffle her hair with his hands. "Does your mother know?" 

"Yes, I showed her when I got home earlier today. Her reaction was nearly identical to yours." Tsuki was now wearing a very large, and slightly familiar, fox-like-grin.

"Come on, I think we should get home, or we'll be late for dinner and I don't think that your mother would like that." Both of them then departed and walked back to the house. 


	4. Itachi's test

Naruto, Kakashi, Itachi and 20 members of the ANBU were present in the secret underground sparring facility of the ANBU compound. This was the day in which Itachi was to have his sparring test.

"Alright everyone, Itachi is to fight against 5 ANBU captains to test his strength. Remember the rule. So could everyone, apart from the 6 selected, please gather on the viewing stand." The Hokage announced. Then everyone, apart from said people, walked up the steps to the viewing platform which was situated in the middle of the sparring grounds. From here, everyone would easily see the combat which would be taking place not far below. 

"Ok, everyone ready?" Everyone nodded. " Good, now, begin!" As soon as this was said, all of the ANBU captains had hidden themselves somewhere among all of the trees and bushes. Everything was quiet.

_**Meanwhile, at the house of the Hokage…**_

"Mom, why isn't dad home yet?" Tsuki asked impatiently whilst sitting at the table eating her dinner.

"Because, sweetie, he has some very important business to take care of at the moment. There is a lot of work to do if you are the Hokage, you know." Hinata answered.

"I know. What kind of business is it?" She asked innocently.

"Well, I don't know if I should be telling you this. But… you could say that he is testing out a new… guard, if you will. Understand?" Hinata said when she placed a hand on Tsuki's shoulder.

"Oh, ok. But will he be home before I have to go to bed?"

"I don't know. Depends on how long the test will be. It could range from minutes to hours. So we'll just have to wait." 

_**Back to the match…**_

Everything was still quiet, no movement could be visibly seen below. Many of the ANBU who were watching were getting worried whether Itachi had escaped or something. But just then, you could here a thump, then the snap of a branch. Then there was silence again. This repeated itself four times before there was total silence.

"What's going on down there?" One of the ANBU muttered quietly, almost to himself. Everyone was on their feet, apart from Kakashi and Naruto. Kakashi could see with his Sharingan eye what was going on down there and Naruto had Kyuubi filling him in with the details.

Just then, Itachi came out into the clearing, then stood still when he was just below the platform. There wasn't a single scratch on him and he didn't even have a hair out of place. 

"Congratulation. You did extremely well. They were some of out top ANBUs." Naruto declared.

"But what happened down there?" One of the ANBU asked.

"Why doesn't everyone go down there themselves and take a look." So everyone did and when they returned, they were obviously shocked by what they had seen. They had found that all of Itachi's opponents had been knocked out and tied to the tree with chakra enforced rope. 

"I think it is safe to say that you have passed!" Naruto declared with a giant grin on his face. "Itachi, if you wouldn't mind, please would you join me in my office." 

_**In the Hokage's office…**_

"I must say, you did that much better then I thought you would, I mean, none of them were actually hurt or injured." Both of them smiled.

"But, as I said earlier you will sadly have to be put on probation. Whilst on probation, Kakashi will be keeping an eye on you. Normally you would be on probation for a couple of years, however, I need an escort for my trip to Suna, which will be in four months time. So you'll only be on probation for three and a half months." Naruto finished.

"Oh and before you leave, would you mind putting this on." Naruto through Itachi black mask which was incredibly similar to the one which Kakashi wears except that it covered the whole face apart from the eyes, a long black trench coat which had white flames embroided into it and a black head band with a metal plate which had the leaf symbol on. "This will act as a disguise during your stay and it is all for you to keep." Naruto said happily.

Itachi had put everything on apart from the headband. That remained in his had as he was just staring at it.

"Is everything ok?" Naruto asked, slightly concerned.

"Everything's fine, it's just that… I haven't had one of these for a very long time. I forgot what it felt like to be part of Konoha. I guess I didn't realise just how much I missed it… Thank you." Itachi said when he looked up. He then wrapped it round his neck.

"No problem." Naruto said smirking a bit. "Anyway, I think we should finish, Kakashi is waiting outside to take you home." Both of them then left.

_**2 months later, dinner time in the Hokage household…**_

"So Tsuki, how's school going?" Naruto questioned whilst quickly getting his food down.

"It's going really well, I've learnt a lot there." She said smiling, but Naruto managed to see past the smile and noticed that she was upset, probably because the other kids were still picking on her. "But daddy, why do I have to keep my strength a secret. It's really hard." 

"Because they don't need to know. You don't know how they'll react to it. Trust me, I know what I'm talking about." With that the conversation concluded. "If you don't mind, I have someone to talk to." He said as he left the table to go to his home office.

His home office was different from his other office, it was much more homely and it didn't contain any paperwork, apart from his personal ones. There were many pictures of his family and friends and there was a beautiful view of a small forest surrounding a lake. There were Sakura trees in full blossom and the moon was at its fullest.

As Naruto entered he sat down on his chair by his desk. _Kyuubi, are you awake? __**Yes, yes, of course I am. What is it you want? **__It's been over two months since Tsuki's first gift kicked in. Any idea of when the next ones will. __**Why is it that you want to know that? **__Just curious… And I need to prepare for it. __**Well I suppose there is no harm in telling you. The next couple will indeed be activated within this week. **__So… are you going to tell me what they are, or will I have to wait and see? __**Wait and see, but since you asked, I'll tell you exactly when they are activated.**__ Fair enough. So, what do you think of Itachi. __**I sympathise with him. I know what he went through. I believe that you are doing the right thing in trusting him. He seems to have changed. **__He's not the only one… __**What do you mean by that kit? **__Oh come one, surely you haven't forgotten how you treated me when I first realised that you were inside of me. We can actually have a proper, civilised conversation now. __**I suppose… **_


	5. Tsuki's new form

_**The following week in Iruka's classroom...**_

"Everyone, BE QUIET!" Iruka had lost his temper as most of the class wasn't paying attention to what he was trying to teach them. They had all been busy chatting away to their fiends. But they were all silent now, fear in their eyes as they saw just how red Iruka's face was now. 

_Why does everyone always have to talk… I wouldn't want to, the stuff that Iruka-sensei is teaching us is really exciting, I mean, who wouldn't want to know this… hmm… we are just wasting valuable learning time whenever Iruka-sensei has to shout at the class… _Tsuki was thinking to herself.

_**In the Hokage's office…**_

_Paperwork… why is there always paperwork for me to do?... __**Oi, kit… **__What is it? I'm kind of busy here… __**That can wait. This is important. Tsuki has just activated another gift, this one is more powerful then the last and if I'm not mistaken, she's at the academy in the classroom…**__ Oh damn, I have to go get her…_And with this, Naruto was gone in a flash…

_**Back at the academy…**_

Iruka was still shouting at the class, at least, until he suddenly felt a massive source of chakra growing within the room. He was looking at all of his students until his eyes landed on Tsuki who had passed out. _…Something's happening to her… Oh man, what should I do?_ Just then the door of the classroom flew open and there stood the Hokage.

"Naruto, what's happening to her?" Iruka questioned as soon as he noticed Naruto.

"No time to explain. I need to get her out of here." He answered. He was then suddenly standing behind Tsuki before he picked her up into his arms. Then there was a poof of smoke and they were both gone. Everyone sat there in silence due to the shock of what had just happened.

After about ten minutes, a boy who had jet black hair and eyes raised his hand. It took a while for Iruka to notice. He then motioned for him to ask away.

"Um… Iruka-sensei… what just happened?" He said quietly.

"I don't know… I honestly don't know…" Was all he managed to say in response. 

_**At the Hokage's private training grounds…**_

Naruto had placed his daughter on the ground and stepped a couple of meters away, as advised by Kyuubi. There was blue chakra spinning around her, twisting and glowing. She started to float upwards, hovering a meter up in the air. Her eyes then opened to reveal two pupils which were glowing, with the colour of gold. The glowing chakra got so bright that even Naruto wasn't able to see. He had to shut his eyes and cover them with his hand. Within a minute the glowing and spinning stopped and when Naruto opened his eyes again, he saw Tsuki being gently placed down back onto the ground. Naruto quickly ran over to her and hugged her tightly to his chest. She started to stir.

"…Dad… What happened?" She said whilst rubbing her eyes with her hand. Her voice sounded exhausted and confused.

"I'm not sure but I'm sure Kyuubi knows." He replied.

"What… why would he know?"

"I believe that this is one of the gifts which he was talking about. It's been activated." He said whilst stroking her long, soft hair.

"Oh… ok… but why do I feel so different?" She asked.

It was just then that Naruto noticed that Tsuki's appearance had changed. Her hair was still long and the same colour as Hinata's, but the tips were white. Her eyes were still the same colour as Naruto's but her pupils were now white as well. Her ears had grown and looked like fox ears, but white instead of red and she had also grown a furry, white fox tail. She had sharp claws instead of fingernails and her teeth were now as sharp as a fox. Naruto could sense that her chakra level was about four times bigger then before, but still nowhere near the size of Naruto's. She had obtained great strength, power and chakra. 

_**Kit, let me take over for a bit so that I can explain to your daughter what has happened to her, and don't worry, it's a good thing.**__ Fine, so be it…_There was a small struggle inside of Naruto before he spoke, his voice deeper then before.

"**Tsuki, this is Kyuubi speaking so listen up. You have activated a gift which has been given to you. When you look at your reflection you will see that you have changed your physical appearance quite a bit. Your senses are now as sharp as a fox and your speed as well. Your strength has also improved, but not much more then it was a couple of months ago. You have basically gained many of the characteristics of a fox. Don't worry about your appearance though, you'll easily be able to change back to your normal self whenever you wish. Also, your chakra level has also increased, four times to be exact. You have also gained the power of the Byakugan, from your mother of course, but your eyes will not change, apart from your pupil which will turn white when you activate this power. Understood?" **Kyuubi finished.

"Yes, but why do I have this power?" Tsuki asked confused.

"**It is a power which you have gained when your mothers and fathers genes combined, with my own getting included. You have been given responsibility with this power. So use it wisely." **With this, Kyuubi retreated back into Naruto and he gained consciences again. They sat there for a while, to take it all it. Naruto then broke the silence.

"So… Did you understand what Kyuubi said?"

"I think so… Can I go look in a mirror, I want to see what I look like now." She said as she was getting up.

"Sure thing sweetie." They then left the training grounds, hand-in-hand.

_**Back at the house…**_

"Kyuubi said that you'll need to use this hand seal to activate and de-activate your bloodline, as he called it." Naruto then showed her what to do. He told her to hold the hand seal of the rabbit. Hold it constantly whilst concentrating some of her chakra into her heart. Tsuki then did this and she started to transform until she was back to her normal appearance.

"Did it work?" Tsuki questioned with a fox-like-grin on her face which she had picked up from her father.

"Why don't you see for yourself." Naruto then held a mirror in front of his daughter.

"Perfect!" She declared.

"Remember to keep this as a secret, for the same reasons as your strength, Ok?"

"Of course Daddy."

"You know that you'll need to come up with a name for it sometime soon." He said chuckling a bit.

"hmm… how about… Oh, I know, I'll call it 'Kitsune Henshin'. Is that a good name father?" She said, her ocean blue eyes sparkling.

"That's a perfect name, Kit." He replied.

"Why did you call me kit?"

"Because, that is what Kyuubi calls me. It's short for kitsune." He said grinning.

"Oh, I see. Ok." She said cheerily.

"Someday, people will be calling you the great 'Shiro Kitsune'." Naruto said, half to himself.

_**In the Hokage's office the next day…**_

_Knock, knock…_

"Enter."

"Hokage-sama, you sent for me?" The man asked.

"Ah yes, Iruka-sensei. Please sit down." With this, Iruka sat down in the chair which Naruto had motioned at.

"Has this got anything to do with what happened in class yesterday?"

"Yes. I know you are probably confused about what happened, and to tell the truth, so was I. But it is serious." Naruto then told Iruka about the transformation and all. When done, he continued, "But all of this must be kept a secret. Understood?" Iruka nodded. "Good. Oh, and if anything similar should start to happen again, then please would you summon me. You can do this by forming this hand seal, which I made to represent the fox. I will then appear within a couple of seconds, understood?" Iruka nodded again. "Thank you Iruka-sensei."

"You do know that I'm not your teacher anymore, so you don't have to call me Iruka-sensei."

"You'll always be considered my teacher, and even more, my friend. Now, I believe that you have a class to attend to so I shall not hold you here any longer." Iruka then stood up and left, heading towards the academy.

_**A couple hours later at the academy…**_

It was break time and everyone was outside. Tsuki was sitting alone on the ground under a tree, when two guys and a girl from her class came walking up to her. 

"Why are you here you weakling?" Said the girl.

"This is no place for babies." Shouted the taller boy.

"Yeah, go back to your mummy and daddy." Taunted the shorter boy.

The three of them carried on like this until a tear started it's way down her cheek. 

"Aw, look, the little baby's crying, the little baby's crying," the three of them chanted.

Tsuki wouldn't stand for this any more so she stood up and shouted, "If you three think that you are so damn tough, then why don't you prove it by fighting me. Come on, you three against me. That's fair I think." The three of them looked at her confused before agreeing to her offer. When some of the other kids had heard this, they all started to gather around the four of them shouting, "Fight, Fight, Fight…" and so on.

"Ready to lose?!" Tsuki dared.

"Hah, you wish." Said the girl, who was obviously the leader of the group. The four of them then started throwing punches and kicks at each other, Most of Tsuki's hitting their target and the others were mostly missing. Then, the girl slapped Tsuki hard on her cheek, everyone heard it. Tsuki's eyes started glowing.

At this point, Iruka was looking outside of his window, when he felt the killer intent coming from Tsuki. _ Oh no… Not now… I have to summon Naruto…_ Iruka then put his hands together to form the hand sign of the fox. There came a poof and there stood the Hokage. 

"Naruto, quickly! It's Tsuki. She's outside!" Iruka shouted, pointing towards the bunch if kids outside. Naruto was gone in a flash and so was Tsuki. 

Everyone was shocked at what just happened. They were all very confused. "Wha-what was that?" "That's not normal." "What is she?" Everyone was quietly mumbling between themselves. They all noticed Iruka walking out towards them.

"Everyone, back inside now! And I'll talk to you three later!" Iruka shouted at everyone, with a very angry voice.

_**In Tsuki's room…**_

Hinata and Naruto were both sitting on either side of Tsuki, who was lying down on her bed. They both had a worried facial expression on. Naruto had filled in Hinata with the details at what had happened. Just then, Tsuki began to stir.

"She's awake." Hinata said, producing a smile. 

"What happened?" Tsuki asked innocently.

"Do you remember what happened yesterday, at the training grounds?" Naruto asked. Tsuki nodded. "Well, it turns out that when you ho into a state of deep emotions, such as rage, you will unconsciously transform into your 'Shiro Kitsune' state." Tsuki just looked down, due to her feeling that she had disappointed her parents. "But don't worry. We just need to train a bit so that you can learn to control it. Ok?" Tsuki nodded before looking up and giving both of her parents a giant hug, but careful as to not use her strength. "I'm sorry mummy and daddy." She said, crying. "It's ok, it's ok." Hinata comforted her daughter. The three of them sat their, in each others arms, for a while before Naruto said.

"I'm sorry, but I have to get back to the office. There is still a lot of work which needs taking care of." He gave Tsuki a kiss on the cheek and Hinata a slightly longer kiss on the lips before walking out of the door. Then, he used his incredible speed to run into his office.

_Back to work…_Naruto thought to himself as he was sitting down in his chair.

_**Kit, make sure to keep to an eye on Tsuki for a while. **__Why? __**Because her new bloodline makes her a bit unstable at the moment. But she will get use to it. **__Anyone in particular you had in mind? __**As a matter of fact, yes.**__ I think I know who you're thinking about… _An ANBU the came in as he was summoned to. He was then asked to go and get said person.

Within a couple of seconds, he entered the room, followed by Kakashi.

"Itachi, there has been a change of plans. You won't be on probation any more, but instead, you will be assigned to look out for my daughter. She has been slightly unstable at the moment and I do not wish for her to be pulled out of the academy. So I want you to be around her all the time, keep her safe and if anything 'strange' should happen, then you are to bring her straight to me. Understood?" Naruto finished.

"Yes Hokage-sama." Itachi replied. He was wearing the items which he had been given by Naruto. 

"But if you are unable to find me, or I am not around at the time, then take her to Hinata, as she will know what to do." Naruto then asked Kakashi if he could go get Iruka, they then both entered the room in a poof.

"Iruka, as you know, Tsuki is a bit… unstable. So I have assigned Shoushi here," motioning to Itachi, "to keep an eye on her if anything else were to happen. Is that alright? Good. I'm only telling you as you'll probably be wandering why he would be watching. Oh, and if any of the students notice him and ask why he is here, just say that he is… he's out keeping guard. If they ask why, just say that we don't want anything to happen to our future shinobi. OK?" Iruka nodded." Good. You may go now. Kakashi, you don't have to keep an eye on Itachi anymore, but it would be wise to check up on him every now and then. You two may also go now." Everyone left and Naruto went back to his paperwork. 


	6. Trip to Suna

_**2 months later...**_

"Sweetie, I'll be taking you to school today, but I won't see you for a while." Naruto said as they were eating breakfast.

"Why not father?" She said as she finished drinking her milk.

"Today I'll be going on my trip to Suna. And I'll be taking Shoushi with me. So I have assigned Kakashi to watch over you instead, whilst we are gone." Naruto replied.

"How long will you be gone?"

"I'm not sure, it'll take a couple of days to get there and back. And I'll need at least six days there. So probably about two weeks, three at the most. Is that alright kit?" Naruto said grinning. Tsuki chuckled as she loved being called kit. 

"Ok daddy." The two of them then finished eating breakfast before they were about to leave. 

But then Hinata came and said, "Don't forget to say good bye to me." Tsuki then ran over to hug her mum and received a kiss on the cheek. Then she walked back over to her dad.

"Don't worry, I'll come back and say goodbye before I leave." Naruto said smiling, before he left with Tsuki holding onto his hand.

"So Tsuki, remember to control your emotions whilst I'm gone, even though Kakashi will still be around."

"Yes daddy, I'll do my best."

"And what are you going to do if they start picking on you again?"

"Breath calmly, then look up at them and smile. And if that doesn't work, I'll do what you showed me to do." Tsuki said smiling. Naruto had showed her how to release some of her chakra into her surroundings, which would scare the other kids away.

"Good. I'll come with you inside as I also need to talk to Iruka-sensei." Naruto said as they were going inside the academy. They opened the door to see everyone inside chatting. But they all stopped as they saw the Hokage.

"Naruto, what brings you here?" Iruka greeted.

"I came to drop Tsuki off before leaving for Suna. And I need to talk to you." Naruto said with a serious face. Naruto kissed Tsuki goodbye before he and Iruka walked outside of the classroom and stopped in the hall.

"I won't be here to take care of Tsuki if 'you-know-what' happens. And neither will Shoushi, as he is accompanying me. However, Kakashi is around, so he should be able to take care of it. Only summon me in an emergency, ok?" Naruto concluded.

"Of course… If you don't mind, I need to get back to my class."

"Yes, I also need to go." Naruto was then gone in a flash. Iruka chuckled to himself before he re-entered his classroom, only to shout at his class for them to be quiet.

_**In the Hokage's office…**_

"Itachi, when we arrive at the Kazekage's household, it'll be best for you to keep your disguise and your 'other' name. I think that he still has a grudge on you for that incident that happened. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about." Itachi nodded. "Good, You will be accompanying me along with Shikamaru." Naruto then smiled. He was bringing Shikamaru for two reasons, one for political reasons, and the other being that he knew hoe much he missed Temari and vice versa. 

Just then, Shikamaru entered the office. He then looked at Itachi and said, "Who's this then?"

"This, my friend, is Shoushi. He will be accompanying us, as my guard, on our trip to Suna. Is that fine with you?" Shikamaru just nodded. "Good. Now, is everyone ready, we're leaving in an hour. We'll be meeting by the southern gates." The three of them were all gone in a puff.

The Hokage had returned to right outside of his house. He then entered only to find Hinata sitting on the couch, reading. As soon as she noticed someone watching her, she looked up only to find a smiling Naruto, leaning on the door frame. She smiled back at him as she placed the book down on the table. Naruto walked over to her smoothly and picked her up into his strong arms. They looked into each others eyes, obviously lost. 

"I'll miss you." Naruto whispered into her ears, before kissing them. He then started to stroke her hair. She made a small moaning sound before saying.

"I'll miss you too, Naruto-kun." She said before there lips touched. It started off with light kisses, but became harder and more passionate. Naruto had one hand around her waste, and the other one was still stroking her long, indigo hair. Hinata had both of her arms wrapped around his neck. They did this for a couple of minutes before just standing there, in each others arms. 

"I have to go a get ready." Naruto said as he kissed her on the cheek before parting. He smiled and walked up the stairs to their bedroom. When in there, he searched through his closet to find some clothes more adapted to traveling. He found a pair of indigo trousers, covered with hidden pockets, a black t-shirt which had a white rim at the bottom. He then found a black cape which had a very large collar, so that it was able to hide the bottom half of his face, which ended where his nose was. He put on a black pair of ninja sandals. He also put on a pair of black fingerless gloves. He then found his usual Hokage outfit, which is not the same as the previous ones worn, and he sealed them into a containment scroll which he had in one of his hidden pockets. As he finished packing, clothes and all, he found a small package at the bottom of his closet. He smiled as he remembered that it was a present which he had bought for his daughter not too long ago. He picked it up and walked into Tsuki's bedroom and placed it on her bed. He then walked back downstairs, ready to depart.

"Come back soon and be careful." Hinata said as she hugged him. 

"I promise that I'll be careful. Now you take care of Tsuki whilst I'm gone." Naruto said as he hugged her back.

"Of course I will. Say hi to Ghaara, Temari and Kankorou for me when you get there." With that they hugged each other tightly in each others arms. They then parted from each other before Naruto went out of the door, but not before saying goodbye and giving her his ever-so-famous fox-like-grin.

_**At the southern gates…**_

Itachi and Shikamaru were already waiting at the gate before Naruto came. The two of them were leaning against the wall, but stood up as soon as they saw him coming. 

"On time as usual I see." Shikamaru said. Over the years, Shikamaru has found things less troublesome. "I'm guessing you left Neji in charge whilst we'll be gone."

"Naturally." Neji was now the head of Hyuuga clan and whenever Naruto was away, he would be put it charge.

The three of them then started their way to Suna, they were walking side-by-side, with Shikamaru on Naruto's left and Itachi on his right.

_**A couple of hours later…**_

It was nearly dark, so the three travelers decided to stop and set up camp. Itachi went to get wood, Naruto put up the tents and Shikamaru cooked to food. It was quiet apart from a few nearby birds which were singing in the trees…

_**Somewhere behind the bushes…**_

"I see that the Hokage has a new bodyguard. No matter." Someone whispered with a hoarse voice.

"We can still get him." Whispered another.

_**Back at the camp…**_

Itachi returned with a large pile of wood in his arms. He placed them down near the fire before sitting down. He then suddenly sat up, with an expression of deep concentration, but it couldn't be seen as he was wearing his mask.

"Shoushi. Are you alright?" Shikamaru said as he noticed his eyes looking out into the trees.

"There's someone near." Itachi replied. He then disappeared into the surroundings, only to return a few seconds later.

"Find anything?"

"Whoever was there are now gone. I didn't find any trace." Itachi then looked at the fire.

"Wander what they wanted."

"I think it is more like 'who' they wanted. But they are gone now and I don't think that they'll return soon. However, I shall stay awake this night to make sure."

"Your choice." Shikamaru didn't want to argue so he just went back to tending the food.

_**Next day, about noon…**_

"Shikamaru, there is something that I must tell you. I know that you'll be surprised and you'll probably think that I've gone mad or something but just listen up." Naruto began. The three then stopped walking and Naruto turned to face Shikamaru with Itachi by his side. "This isn't exactly who you think he is." Naruto motioned to Itachi. "His mane isn't Shoushi, that is only his cover name. His real name is in fact… Uchiha Itachi." Shikamaru just stood there in shock before saying.

"What is he doing here then?"

"Well, you see it's a very long story. But long story short, he now serves me. I shall fill you in with the detail later but for now this will have to do. And you must carry on calling him Shoushi, as that is his cover name."

"Yes, of course." 


	7. Arrival at Suna and Their New Companion

Within a couple of days, the three travelers were nearing Suna. The three of them were marveling the sight before they reached the gate. Shikamaru had sent a message earlier that day, telling the sand siblings that they would be arriving later that day. And sure enough, the three of them were waiting outside the gates for their guests to arrive. 

"Shikamaru!" Temari shouted as she ran at full speed towards Shikamaru before stopping to hug him. "I missed you."

"I missed you too." Shikamaru replied. The two of them were in each others arms, completely lost in each others eyes.

"Anyway, it's nice to see you again Ghaara." Naruto said as he put a hand out.

Ghaara then shook it, with an ever-so-small smile on his face. "Same here."

"Hey, what about me?" Kankorou complained.

"Hehe… It's nice to see you too, Kankorou." Naruto said as he put a hand in front, which Kankorou also shook.

"Oh, and by the way, this is Shoushi and he's my personal guard." He motioned towards Itachi who just grunted in response. "He's not exactly a man of many words." Ghaara could easily relate to that. Ghaara then motioned for them to follow him, which they all did, with the exception of Shikamaru and Temari who were walking off in a different direction, arm-in-arm. Naruto just chuckled quietly to himself at the sight of the two lovebirds, but then a frown appeared on his face as he remembered Hinata and Tsuki, oh how he missed them. But before he got a chance to think more they had already arrived at the Kazekage household. They entered.

"Kankorou, show our guests where their rooms are. I must go back to the office and try to finish the damn paperwork." Ghaara said in his monotone voice. Sand started to appear around him until he was gone. 

"Fine, fine… I guess I don't have a choice." Kankorou said before he started walking, with Naruto and Itachi following. They then stopped outside of a large dark brown door. "This is where the Hokage will be staying." 

"Please, just call me Naruto. We are all friends here." 

"Ok then. And next door is Shoushi's room. Hope you like them." Kankorou then left the two so that they could settle into their rooms. Naruto's was rather large, with beige wall, dark oak furnisher, which included a double bed, a bedside table, a closet, a desk, a chair and another door which lead into a bathroom. The floor was also wooden. Itachi's room was much similar, except that the walls were white. 

_**Back with Shikamaru and Temari…**_

The two lovers were sitting in a restaurant eating lunch together. They were making small talk, just catching up and checking how the other has been doing.

"I've really missed you, Shikamaru." Temari said, her cheeks turning a bit rosy.

"I've missed you too." Shikamaru said, before leaning over the table to plant a quick kiss on Temari's lips.

"So, how long will you be staying here this time?"

"Probably a week, maybe a bit more. Depends on how things go." 

"Oh. Ok." The two sat silently, eating their food.

When the two had finished and paid, they left together, heading towards a cliff so that the could admire the view there. The view looked out all over the city. It was truly breathtaking. 

As the two stood there, side-by-side, Shikamaru put an arm around Temari's shoulder. Both of them blushed when Temari turned around to look at Shikamaru.

"I love you… I love you very much." Temari whispered.

Shikamaru smiled before saying, "I love you too." Then the two lovers kissed. They were very passionate, yet very gentle. Anyone could see that they were very serious about their relationship. But sadly, it was difficult for them to be together, as Shikamaru was the head in tactics and strategy in Konoha and Temari had to take care of both of her siblings, as no-one dared to take care of Kankorou and Ghaara disliked having servants or any strangers near him. So the two lovers could never be together for good, no matter how much they desperately wanted to. But they enjoyed these few weeks which they had together and made the most of them.

Hours past, the sky was darkening and the sun was setting. Sunsets in Suna were known for there beauty and created the perfect atmosphere for any lovers. When the sun was gone, they both left to go to Temari's wing of the Kazekage's estate. They then spent the night together there.

_**The next morning…**_

_Knock, knock…_

"Enter." Said the Hokage. He had been sitting at the desk, looking at a photo of his wife and daughter. He always missed them a lot when he was away on trips.

In came Kankorou. "Ghaara wishes to speak to you Naruto. He says that it is urgent." 

"Thank you Kankorou. I'll be on my way." He then placed his photo onto the desk before heading off to the Kazekage's office.

He knocked on the door and entered when he heard a grunt which was Ghaara's way of say 'come in'. 

"You wanted to see me?" 

Ghaara temporarily ignored him as he just finished some of his paperwork. "Yes, I did. There is a problem here in Suna. A boy to be exact. You see, the people here aren't taking it too well. The boy has an inner self which he can't always control. It is like he is two people who share one body." Ghaara paused as he saw that Naruto was indeed intrigued by this but had no idea where it was going. "He has no family, they had all been killed whilst trying to protect him from everyone else. The villagers fear him due to them not understanding him. There have been numerous counts of attempts at assassination and the more they occur the more unstable he gets. He gets easily paranoid and the sort. I can feel that he hates being here and that he can't take it anymore."

"Yes I understand. But what has this got to do with me?"

"The thing is… I was wandering if you wouldn't mind taking him back with you to Konoha, permitting that he takes a liking for you."

"You mean that you want me to take him in?" Naruto asked, although he knew what the answer would be.

"Yes. If you don't mind of course." Naruto sat there thinking. Then his thoughts went back into the past, to the time when he was alone, hated and feared by everyone. He found himself somehow relating to this boy, even though he had never met him. And before he knew it he had agreed.

"You sure you want to do this?"

"Yes."

"Thank you my friend." Ghaara then made a strange motion with his hand and a sand village ANBU appeared. Ghaara whispered something to him and the ANBU disappeared again. Then the door opened and in came Kankorou with a boy of about ten years. His hair was identical of that which Kiba had at that age, His eyes were… they had two different shades, his left eye was silver whilst his right eye was a deep green. His face showed no emotion, but when looking at his eyes you could see sadness. He wore a navy t-shirt and a pair of grey shorts. He had a pair of black ninja sandals on and a black fishnet shirt on underneath his t-shirt. He also had his right ear pieced at the top where a silver ring was present.

"Kitai, this is Naruto. He is the Hokage." The boy looked up and saw the other man in the room. He gave a quick smile, but Naruto could tell that it was a fake one, as he had done that himself countless times.

"Hello Kitai." Naruto bent down and put a hand forward, which the boy eventually shook abruptly. "How old are you Kitai." Naruto asked on the softest voice he could find.

Kitai stood there hesitant for a moment before muttering, "Ten years, sir." 

"Really. I have a daughter who is nine. Her name's Tsuki." Kitai just nodded at this. He still wasn't making eye contact.

"You know. You and I aren't so different." At this, Kitai looked up and said, "How's that?"

"You see, when I was very young, I became a vessel. Everyone knew, apart from me. I had no-one. All of the villagers hated me and feared me. They often attacked me." With this, Naruto could see that there was now some hope in the boy's eyes. "Our histories aren't that different." Naruto was now showing a small smile as the boy's eyes began showing some other sort of emotion, apart from sadness.

"H-how do they feel about you being Hokage then?"

"Well, you see, I trained and practiced all the time, pushing myself all the way. I did whatever I could to protect the village and I eventually gained their respect and the recognition that I wasn't a demon. But there are still a few people who have a bad view of me and I don't think that they'll ever change but the point is that if you work hard and do what you can for the people you care about, then you'll earn respect, and more importantly, friends." Kitai was now smiling. "Do you understand?" The boy then nodded enthusiastically. 

"It seems that Kitai has taken some liking to you Naruto." Ghaara stated, with a smile on his face.

"And I've taken a liking to him too." Naruto then smiled before turning to Ghaara. "I'll leave you two alone so that you can talk." Everyone had now gone apart from Kitai and Ghaara. Ghaara motioned for Kitai to sit down on a chair by his desk.

"So, what do you think of Naruto?"

"I-I think he's nice."

"Indeed, as do I. In fact, he was the one who made me what I am today. As you probably know, I am also a vessel, and my history is slightly similar, but I took a different path. I thought that my purpose was to kill. But Naruto he saw through that and he was the first person who I could relate to. He made me see that I wasn't a killer, that I was just confused. After our battle. I knew that I had changed. And from that day forward, we have been very close friends. Thanks to him, I have friends and respect, not respect from fear, but respect from kindness. And I'm not the only one that he's had an influence on."

Kitai was now looking at Ghaara, with his eyes as wide as they could get. He was amazed by what he was hearing, amazed by what Naruto had done, after everything that he had gone through. Naruto was now instantly his idol, his roll-model.

"You ok Kitai?"

"Yes."

"Good. Now you're probably wandering what he has to do with you aren't you?" Kitai nodded. "Well, as you know, most of the villagers her don't seem to… well… you know… they don't exactly understand you so they fear you." Kitai was now looking down at the floor sadly again. "That is why I have proposed for you to go back to Konoha with Naruto when he and his companions leave. I want you to go and live with him. I think that you'll enjoy it more there, a new beginning if you will." They now had eye contact and for the first time, since he had been taken in by the sand siblings, he was happy. "So, what do you say?"

"Ye-I-um…" Kitai just smiled as he couldn't find the right way to put it.

"Ok, then it's settled. I believe that they'll be leaving sometime next week." He then motioned for Kitai to leave which he did. 

As Kitai closed the door and sat down, leaning against the wall. He hadn't quite take it all in. It was all so sudden. Tears of joy started flowing from his eyes.

_**Back in Naruto's room…**_

Naruto was back at the desk, looking at his precious photo, when the someone knocked at the door.

"Enter." When the door opened, a boy poked his head round the door. "Kitai, what are you doing here?" By the time he had finished his sentence, he had already been embraced in a hug from the boy.   
"So… does that mean that you're coming with us?" Naruto managed to say, even though he was slightly chuckling. Kitai nodded very enthusiastically.   
"Good, I'm glad to hear that."   
"Who are they?" Kitai asked as he was looking at the photo.   
"This is my wife, Hyuuga Hinata, and this is my daughter, Uzumaki Tsuki."   
"They are very beautiful."

"I think so too. You'll be meeting them soon." 


	8. Departure and Acquaintences

_**1 week later...**_

_Knock, knock..._

"Hn."

Naruto entered the Kazekage's office and sat down by the desk.

"Yes, what is it?"

"I came to say that we'll all be leaving tomorrow morning, if that's alright with you of course."

"Yes."

"Also, I came to tell you that the Akatsuki has lost one of it's strongest members."

"Which one would that be?"

"Uchiha Itachi."

"You mean to say that he is dead?"

"No, not quite. But he won't be causing any more trouble."

"Hn."

"Anyway, I must go and pack."

"Very well."

After Naruto left Ghaara's office, he headed towards Kitai's room.

_Knock, knock…_

"Come in."

"Hello Kitai. I just came to say that we will be leaving tomorrow morning. So I would advise for you to start packing, OK?"

"Yes of course… Could you please help me… I don't exactly know what to bring. I haven't left the building since I came." Kitai had been sitting on his bed, reading a book, but he was now standing up with his book in his hand. He had a small smile on but you could tell that he was nervous about leaving.

"Sure thing…" Naruto then went over to Kitai and they started to go through his possessions. They spent at least an hour going through it all before they decided what he should bring and what he should leave behind. Naruto then left so that he could pack his possessions.

_**In Temari's room…**_

"Remember the first time we fought, in the chuunin exams?"

"Yeah, you thought that I was a lazy kid who had just got lucky."

"I did, but you proved me wrong. So why did you surrender?"

"As I said then, it was just too troublesome… and I guess I had a bit of a soft spot… for you." Shikamaru was tinted red on his cheeks.

"You're just too sweet." Temari said before she kissed him. The two were sitting on her bed, hand-in-hand. 

When they parted, Shikamaru said, "You do know that I'll be leaving tomorrow... I'm sorry."

"Its ok, we both know that it cannot be helped. So let's make the most of the time we have left."

"Sure thing."

_**The next morning…**_

Itachi, Naruto and Kitai were all ready and waiting at the gate. Shikamaru was yet to show up. So they waited.

Shikamaru finally came, with Temari clutching onto his arm, both of them very upset that they wouldn't see each other for awhile. Everytime that Naruto saw these two looking sad, he felt his heart breaking for them. So he gave them a few minutes to say goodbye.

"I'm sorry Temari, but we really must be going." Naruto said softly at last.

"Y-yes… of course." Temari now had tears flowing down her cheeks and Shikamaru's eyes also began to water. The two then gave each other a quick, tight hug before parting.

"Good bye Temari-kun." 

"Good bye Shikamaru-kun."

_**A couple hours later…**_

"Shikamaru?" He looked up at Naruto in response. "I'm sorry." He only smiled back before saying.

"Don't worry. It isn't your fault. It's just hard sometimes." Shikamaru then looked down on the ground again. 

"How's it going Kitai, getting tired yet?"

"A bit, but I can keep going." He replied smiling. Kitai had never been outside of Suna, let alone the wind country, so this was a whole new experience for him. You could tell that he was both extremely excited and nervous at the same time. 

The four of them kept walking until it was getting dark. Kitai was a bit behind and obviously exhausted. Naruto could only smile before he stopped to wait.

"Here, why don't I carry you?" He offered. Kitai sleepily excepted and as soon as he was on Naruto's back he fell asleep. He snored lightly.

They carried on walking for another hour until they stopped to set up camp. Their routines stayed the same for the whole journey. All four of them shared a medium-large tent.

When they woke up they had a quick breakfast before setting off again. Kitai was still tired so he was again carried on Naruto's back for two hours. This was all repeated for another three days, until they reached Konoha. 

When they had reached the great gates which surrounded Konoha, they stopped.

"Inside this wall is Konoha." Naruto told Kitai. All he did in response was drop his jaw. He had never seen anything like it, let alone the forests which surrounded the area. It was all so beautiful. "Should we go in?" Kitai just nodded very slowly.

As they entered they were greeted by everyone who past them, but sadly Kitai received some confused looks as no-one in Konoha had seen or even heard of him, so when they found him walking with the Hokage, they just didn't know how to respond. 

Then, all of a sudden, a man with brown hair and red face paint on his cheeks came rushing over to them, with his now full-grown dog, Akamaru, by his side. 

"Kiba, I didn't expect to see you here. I thought you were on a mission in the wave country." Naruto said.

"Hey, I thought you'd be happy to see me back early. Guess not." Kiba teased.

"No, no. Glad to see that you made it back safely. So did you succeed?"

"Naturally, in record timing if I might add. So… who's the kid?" Kiba asked whilst looking over at Kitai. Kitai was a bit afraid of him, so he stood behind Naruto, just barely poking his head round to analyse Kiba.

"This, my friend, is Kitai. He's going to be living with me. He use to live in Suna."

"I see. Well nice to meet you." Kiba put out a hand for Kitai to shake, but didn't. He then retracted his hand. 

"I can't blame him, you are a pretty scary looking guy after all." Naruto teased.

"Hey you take that back, Blondie." The two friends then started to have a staring match before they both broke out laughing. 

"Anyway, I think I better be going. I have to go and check on our dogs." Kiba and Akamaru then walked off towards their clan estate.

"Wh-who was that?" Kitai asked quietly.

"That was Kiba, and his dog Akamaru. We've been friends for a very long time, ever since we became Genin. He's now the head of his clan. He might seem scary, but in real life, he is a very nice guy, not to mention funny. We use to pull pranks all the time together when we were younger. But we had to stop with them ever since he became head and I became, well, when I became the Hokage." Naruto then smiled at Kitai. "Now, why don't I take you to my house and show you around?" Kitai nodded and the two of them walked off towards the Hokage estate.

When they reached it they then entered. As soon as the door closed, they heard someone come screaming. "Daddy… daddy you're home… I missed you." She then leapt and gave him a massive bear hug. "But then she noticed the other boy which had accompanied her father. "Who's he daddy?"

"This is Kitai. He's going to be living with us. Is that ok?"

"Uhuh… Hello Kitai, my names Tsuki. We're going to become the best of friends." She then put out her hand, and Kitai shook it gently. "Ok," Kitai simply answered.

"Tsuki, why don't you go and get your mother?"

"No need. I'm already here. Welcome home, I missed you... Who is this handsome young man I see here?"

"Mummy, that's Kitai and he's going to be living with us. I'm so excited to finally have a brother." Tsuki said before Naruto even had a chance to say anything.

"I see. Well, it is very nice to meet you Kitai. My name is Hinata. You can call me mummy if you want to. I won't mind." 

"Ok."

"Tsuki, could you take Kitai to the first guest room, which will now be his bedroom. And could you also help him unpack. I need to talk to your father."

"Yes mummy." With this, she grabbed Kitai by the hand and had his bag in the other, before dragging him upstairs.

"He seems nice." Hinata casually stated. "So… why is he here?"

"He's come to live with us. You see, his story is a lot like mine, except for the demon part. In Suna, everyone there treated him like I was treated. So Ghaara, Temari and Kankorou took him in. But they could tell that he still wasn't happy. He wouldn't leave the house and he didn't say much. So Ghaara asked if I could take him in, so that Kitai could have a fresh start, a new beginning. I hope you don't mind." They then both sat down on the couch in the living room.

"Of course I don't mind. I just wished that you could have sent a message forward to me so that I could have got the guest room ready." She then sat on his lap before giving him a kiss on the forehead. "You're too nice for your own good. But that's why I love you." She gave him another kiss, but on the lips. "Anyway, I better go and make some dinner. I'm getting a bit hungry myself. Oh and how was the trip?"

"It went smoothly."

"Good, good."

_**At the dinner table…**_

The four of them were sitting, eating their dinner. They were all making small talk, mostly about the weather and such.

"So Kitai. What did you do in your spare whilst you were staying with the Kazekage?" Hinata asked.

"I trained and read books."

"What type of books?"

"Mostly books about fighting styles, jutsus and the type. I also read many history books." 

"Really. That's what Tsuki does as well. Seems like you two have a lot in common." Kitai and Tsuki both smiled. Even though he had only been here for a few hours, Tsuki and him had become very close friends, forming a brother-sister bond. They hadn't stopped talking when they were unpacking Kitai's possessions.

"Daddy, where's Shoushi. I haven't seen him yet." Tsuki complained.

"I gave him a couple of days off. He hasn't really been resting much since he forst came here." Naruto answered.

"Oh, ok." 


	9. Time to celebrate

_**Three months later...**_

The Hokage was in his office, looking through all of the mission requests, when a bird flew in from the window. There was a not attached to it's leg. The Hokage noticed that it was a bird from the desert, so he decided to leave what he was doing and read the note. Once he was done, he requested that the nearest ANBU come in. The person he came was Shino. 

"Ah, Shino. Nice to see you. But I need you to go and get Shikamaru and tell him to come to my office at once, understood." Shino nodded before he was gone in a poof.

Thirty seconds past and in came Shikamaru.

"What's wrong?" He questioned.

"Please sit down, oh and Shino, you may leave." Shikamaru sat down in the chair on the opposite side of the desk from where Naruto was sitting. Shino exited the same way as he did before.

"I have some news for you concerning Temari."

"Wha-what's happened." He said, obviously very worried that it was going to be something bad.

"Don't worry, it isn't anything bad. But the thing is that… she's pregnant." Shikamaru just sat there silently, with no clue of what to say, no matter how much of a genius he was.

"So, I have preposition for you. You may go and live with Temari in Suna, and raise your child together, but there are two conditions. One; is that you must return to Konoha for ten days, everyone other month, and two; if there is an emergency here in Konoha, then you must return immediately when summoned." Naruto finished as he saw that Shikamaru was having difficulty taking the whole thing in. After a couple minutes of complete silence, Shikamaru finally said something.

"Yes, thank you, I would like that very much." His eyes were watering.

"But remember, you will always be a part of Konoha… You may leave in three days at the earliest, ok?"

"That's fine." 

"I think this needs to be celebrated. Why don't we and a few others go out and eat in honour of your soon-to-be child. I think tonight would be appropriate, don't you?" Shikamaru nodded.

"Good, I'll make all of the reservations and that sort and you just make sure that you turn up."

_**That evening…**_

"Congratulations Shikamaru."

"I bet it's going to be a beautiful baby."

"I'm so happy for you."

This was what everyone was saying as they greeted Shikamaru at the restaurant. The people present were; the rookie nine (minus Sasuke), team Gai, Kakashi, Tsunade, Shizune, Asuma and Kurenai. 

They all sat around a large round table and they were all having a great time. People were chatting and laughing, smiling and crying (of joy) and they were all so happy for the soon-to-be father, Shikamaru. Everyone's children stayed at home, so the adults were able to also have alcohol. Tsunade was the only one getting drunk as the others had control over how much they drank themselves.

"Oh Shikamaru, I'm so excited. I can't wait to see what your baby's going to look like!" Ino screamed. She seemed even more excited then Shikamaru was himself. "I wonder what colour or what colour eyes it is going to have. Or if it'll be a boy or a girl!" Ino carried on rambling. 

Choji was busy eating his food (no dur?), he was probably on his fifths already, whereas everyone else was still on their first. Shino was sitting quietly, but made the odd comment every now and then. Rock Lee was rambling about how the power of youth shall prevail, and how youthful the baby will be. Gai's talk was the same. Kakashi was a bit upset as he left his Icha Icha book at home, due to the excitement of Shikamaru having a child, but was nonetheless enjoying the festivities. Shizune was busy trying to prevent Tsunade from having any more to drink, as she had already had way too much. Asuma and Kurenai were sitting next to each other, blushing slightly. Their conversation was too quiet for anyone else to hear due to all of the excitement. Kiba was laughing and making countless jokes, making himself the centre of attention. Neji and Tenten were out back in the restaurant's garden.

Naruto and Hinata were busy telling Shikamaru the joy of having a child and that sort. Shikamaru was listening to every word of what they were saying, as he personally had no idea of how to raise a child. Sakura was also helping out as she had taken care of many children and the fact that she was medic-nin also helped her with her knowledge of the taking care of children. 

Everyone was having a great time and before they knew it, it was already one in the morning, so they all decided that it was time to home. They all left together but gradually parted when they reached each of their houses.

When everyone was home at last, they all realised just how tired they were, so they all quickly went to bed. When they had been lying down for a while, they all heard exactly the same thing:

"I'M GOING TO BE A FATHER!" 

Everyone was shocked, they had never heard Shikamaru shout, let alone shouting loud enough for the whole of Konoha to hear. They just all smiled before going back to sleep, everyone, except for Kiba, who just couldn't stop laughing at Shikamaru.   
"Oh man, he's gone mad that Shikamaru." He laughed…   
_**Three days later…**_   
Everyone was gathering by the gate, waiting to wave Shikamaru goodbye. Today was the day that he was leaving for Suna. Most of them were crying as they knew that they wouldn't be able to see their loveable-lazy-genius that much anymore, but they were also crying out of joy for him, as he would be united with the one person whom he loved the most. Everyone was waiting until they saw Shikamaru heading their direction. He wasn't walking at his usual slow pace, but actual something closer to Naruto's old fast paced walk, and he was smiling. This was truly a historical day.   
"So are you ready?" Naruto asked.   
"I think so. Thank you so much Naruto, for everything that you've done for me." Tears were flowing down from his eyes. He then gave Naruto a giant hug, and repeated this with everyone else there.   
"Wait, before you go Shikamaru, we all have something to give you, or more like the baby." Kiba shouted in his usual loud voice. Shikamaru stopped and turned round.   
"Here, take this, but don't open it until you get to Suna, we want you and Temari to open it together."   
"Thanks everyone."   
"Wait!" Everyone turned around to see who it was that just shouted. They looked at the boy in shock, they hadn't heard him shout before.   
"Kitai…"Shikamaru managed to say just before Kitai and leapt at him and given him a huge bear hug.   
"Don't forget about me…" Kitai cried.   
"I would never do that…"   
"Good… Say hi to Ghaara, Temari and Kankorou for me. Tell them that I'm happy here and that I've made friends."   
"I will." With that, he turned and started heading in the direction of Suna. He was accompanied by four ANBU, because Naruto didn't want anything to happen to Shikamaru, especially at a time like this, even though he knew that he could take care of himself.   
When they were out of sight, everyone went back to what they had been previously doing. 


	10. The mission

_Knock, knock..._

"Enter." Naruto said. In came four top ANBU; them being Sakura, Shino, Kiba (with Akamaru by his side of course) and Tenten. They all stood silently whilst the Hokage just finished a piece of paperwork. 

"I've got an urgent mission for you four. There have been reports of… suspicious behavior in the northern part of the fire country. The mission is for you guys to go up there and get some information. Do whatever you must do to obtain this. You have up to two months, depending on how the mission goes. As for it's rank, I'm not sure. That's why I'm sending my top ANBU there to investigate. Any questions?"

"When will we be leaving?" Sakura asked.

"In one hour. Oh and before you leave, meet me by the northern gate." With that, they were all gone in the ever-so-famous poof.

_**One hour later…**_

All of them were there already when the Hokage came. They were all wearing the typical ANBU gear. Their masks were all different; Sakura had one with a bird on, Shino's had a bug, Kiba's was obviously a dog and Tenten's was a cat.

"I'm giving you four a new scroll which I've recently made. It's called a transportation scroll. Whatever you write on it will appear on a similar scroll which I have, and vice versa. Anything that you place in it will be sent to me by my scroll. This is a way for us to communicate, fast and efficiently. If you put a drop of your blood on, then only you will be able to use it. Make sure that no-one else gets it… Good Luck." With that the four ANBU were gone.

Naruto then decided against going back to the his office, instead, he went back home. 

When he entered, he found that Tsuki wasn't home, as she was in school. But Kitai was there and had been taught by Tsuki on how to greet Naruto when he entered the house; by throwing yourself at him and giving him a giant hug, which is exactly what Kitai did.

"…It's nice… to see you… too… Kitai." Naruto managed to say. He then got off and scratched the back of his head with a hand. "So, what are you up to?" Naruto questioned.

"Nothing."

"What do you say to us doing some one-on-one training together? Just you and me."

"Really?" Naruto nodded. "I'd love to."

So the two went out back of the house and stopped when they had reached the private training grounds. 

_**Northern fire country…**_

The four ANBU had been traveling for a couple of hours, covering a very large distance. They had stopped to take break for some rest and food. They sat quietly, not making a single sound, until Shino said,

"Someone is near, someone powerful." With this they all got into a defensive position, where they all stood back to back, forming a very small circle. 

There was a rustle in the bushes. But they all stayed calm. But then, two men came out, one wearing a very large black trench coat, which started at his feet and ended with a very high neck collar, covering half of the man's face. The other man wore something similar, except that it had grey swirls covering it.

"Well, well, well… if it isn't my old classmates…" Came the teasing voice of the first man.

"Who are you?" Sakura demanded.

"What, you don't recognise me. Surely you of all people hasn't forgotten about your old teammate."

"Sa-Sasuke?" 

"Oh so you do remember me."

"What do you want Sasuke?!" Kiba demanded, his voice showing anger and hatred for their old friend.

"I thought you guys would be happy to see me. I mean, I don't remember the last time we met." Sasuke was now obviously harassing them. Just then a shurikan came flying towards him, but he managed to easily dodge it. "I see that Tenten is also here… you didn't possibly think that that would have got me. You'll have to try much harder."

"I was just testing you."

_BANG…_

"I see you didn't notice the explosive tag I put on the shurikan, did you?" Tenten said.

"No matter. It still wouldn't be enough to take me down."

"What do you want Sasuke?!" Kiba shouted again.

"I came for two reasons. One; Itachi has quit the Akatsuki and I'm sure that Hokage knows where he is, and you guys are his friends, right? So I would appreciate it if you told me where he is."

"We didn't even know that he had quit the Akatsuki." Tenten said.

"I see… No matter, I shall find him…"

"What else did you want?" Shino said in his emotionless voice, but the others of the group could tell that he was slightly annoyed.

"Not wasting any time, are we… Anyway, I also came to give you a warning. If Konoha doesn't surrender, then we won't go soft on you when we attack, and we shall attack you." With that Sasuke and the other man accompanying him vanished. The group of ANBU waited for a while before sitting down to discuss.

"We must tell the Hokage right away."

"I'll send the message to him." Sakura said before pulling out the transportation scroll. She bit her thumb so that a drop of her blood could land on the scroll. She then took out a pen and started writing; _Hokage, Uchiha Sasuke has been found. He warned us that if Konoha doesn't surrender, then they won't go easy when they attack. We're returning home._

The four then stood up and headed their way home.

_**At the training grounds…**_

"You're very good. How long have you been training?" Naruto said as he was watching Kitai throw punches at a tree.

"Since the Kazekage took me in. I had a lot of time and I wanted to be able to protect myself and the people important to me. So I thought it wise to train."

"I see. Well, that's exactly what I did when I was younger."

"Really. But you're so strong now. I bet you were rookie of the year or something."

Naruto just chuckled before he answered. "No, no… far from it actually. I was dead-last, to tell the truth. But I trained and worked hard and when you try your hardest, you'll almost certainly succeed."

"Wow… do you think that I could become as strong as you?"

"I don't see why not… Hey, why don't we go and buy you some shinobi gear? I think you deserve after this training session." 

At hearing this Kitai hugged Naruto before saying, "Thank you… dad."

When Naruto heard Kitai call him father, his heart instantly melted. Kitai was indeed like a son to him. He would do anything for, even if it meant that he would lose his life.

After a while the two parted before heading off towards the shops.

_**In the shopping district…**_

They had been to many different shinobi shops but they hadn't found the perfect attire yet, so their search carried on. When they had reached the final shop, they crossed their fingers before entering. 

Kitai was trying on the last outfit which they had found when he said. "Perfect…"

As he walked out of the changing rooms, Naruto just stood in awe as he thought he looked like a true shinobi of the leaf. Kitai was wearing a black t-shirt with a high collard turtle-neck, white shorts and under his shirt was a long-sleeved fishnet shirt. He got a new pair of black ninja sandals, but these had a small pocket on the inside where a shurikan could be kept. 

They bought it and left the shop for home. But Naruto decided that he had better get back to the office, so he just dropped Kitai off at home.

When he entered his office, he saw that his transportation scroll had received a message. As he opened it, he read it. When he had finished he was shocked at what he had heard. _This can't be possible… not now… I need to talk to Shikamaru, but I don't want him to leave Temari, not at a time like this… but what choice do I have?... __**Hey Kit. What's bothering you? **__Sasuke and Orochimaru are planning an attack and they want us to surrender but we can't do that… __**Those two sn of a bs, if I get my hands on them I'll…**__ whoa whoa... calm down… they haven't attacked yet… But I need some advice on what to do…__** I see… well I haven't got much to say… except… no…**__ what is it… tell me… __**It's too extreme…**__ I don't care, I'll do whatever it takes to protect this village and you know that as well as I do… __**I know kit, but it's a painful process and you'll have huge mood swings, not to mention that you'll get a lot less sleep… **__Anything, just tell me what to do, and no holding back. __**Very well, but don't come crying to me at any time during the process. It should take about a month to finish, but you'll need another two to master it, and that's if you train non-stop… **__I'll do it, whatever the cost, I'll do it and no-one can stop me… __**Good. Now, the first step is for you to get, I'd say about five liters of liquid Charem, which is a rare type of chakra enforced metal which is basically unbreakable. When you have it, you must insert it into your muscles, using a syringe. But no more then 200 milliliters a day or you could endanger your life, not to mention mine. This is extremely painful and it does have some side effects. For example, you won't be as strong as you usually are due to your muscles adapting to the Charem and also you might have the occasional muscle spasm. During this process, you also need to wear weights, two hundred pounds should do. **__Anything else? __**Yes, I would advise you to try and use as little chakra as possible, this will make the process more bearable and it will also go much faster… **__Very well… but where am I to find Charem… I've never heard of this before… __**That's because it is very expensive and considered illegal as it is also hard to control its power… You should be able to find some in the hidden market… **__... Ok, I'll go find it…_

Naruto then made the hand seal and transformed himself to look like a man in his late forties and eh wore a large dark grey cloak. He jumped out of the window and used his speed (he'd learnt how to obtain the speed of the fourth Hokage) and ran to a small building near the edge of the village. He knocked on the door and eye hole piece opened. The man on the other side eyed him up and down before allowing him to come in. He showed Naruto the way to some stairs which lead him deep down into a market which was full of illegal trade. There he searched for the Charem. He had asked many, but none claimed to have any. He then approached a stool which sold the most odd of items, there were such things as shaman crystals and missing-nin headbands. When he had asked the man there about the Charem, he looked around wearily before he motioned for him to follow. He did and he entered a small run down building. In there he found huge jars full of obscurities. 

"So… How much do you want of it?" The man asked, it was obvious that he had a breathing problem.

"Five liters!"

"Really? Do you have the money for it?" He asked in a sneaky type of voice, obviously planning something. Naruto held out a rather large bag and said, "This should do. For both the Charem and for you to keep this quiet." He then threw the bag at the man before grabbing two bottles full of the Charem. He then ran out at top speed and back home to his house. He ran up to his office and hid the two bottles in a secret compartment which he had under the floor boards.

When finished, he ran back downstairs and sat down in the living room. He relaxed but before he could think any further, Hinata came into the room and sat beside her husband.

"Hey there Hinata-kun."

"Hi yourself." She said cheekily before she started caressing his cheek. He closed his eyes before he felt Hinata sit down on his lap. Their lips were nearing each other before they touched. When their mouths opened, their tongues entwined and Naruto was stoking her long hair. He then started moving down towards her neck. She let out a small groan, indicating that she was enjoying it. She moved her hands to his waist and then lifted his shirt a little so that she could feel his chest. But before they could get any further, Hinata said, "Honey, the kids are here. This wouldn't be right." She then chuckled.

"You're right as usual." He then gave her a quick peck before she stood up and started her way towards the kitchen to prepare dinner. He followed after her and stood behind her and started to play with her hair. 

"What's with you lately, not that I'm complaining."

"I just realised that I haven't spent that much time home lately. I missed you."

"I missed you too sweetie but I must really get on with the cooking, or the kids will suspect that something's wrong."

"I hate it how you're always right." Naruto sat down on a chair by the eating table, pondering for a while.

"What's wrong." Hinata asked in a concerned voice.

"What would you say in adopting Kitai, I mean he's practically our son already."

Hinata turned around before smiling. "I think that would be nice." She went over and gave him a quick peck on the cheek before whispering, "I think you should go tell him." He nodded and made his way upstairs.

_Knock, knock…_

"Come in."

Naruto entered and sat on the bad, motioning for Kitai to sit on his lap, which he did.

"What would you say if Hinata and I wanted to adopt you? To make you officially part of our family"

Kitai turned around in disbelief, searching through Naruto's eyes to see if there was any trace of him lying but when he couldn't find any, he started crying ,saying, "Yes, yes, YES…" 


	11. Seclusion

The next day, Hinata, Naruto, Tsuki and Kitai all walked into the building of the adoption service. They sat down and waited until they were called up. As they entered the office, the person who was sitting at the desk looked up to steal a quick glace at the people who had entered before returning to her paperwork. But she soon stopped as she realised who was actually sitting in the chair.

"Hokage-sama, I didn't expect to see you here. Are you considering adoption?" She asked confuse.

"Yes, I… I-mean, we intend to adopt Kitai here from Suna. He has been living with us for a while and we decided that we should make him an official member of our family."

"I see. Well we would need to check up on any adoptions and inspect the house which they were to live in, but since he has already been with you for some time now, I don't see why we would have to do that. Now, there is also a matter of paperwork. You will need to fill these in and sign both yours and Lady Hinata's names at the end. When finished, come back in and I'll give you the certificate."

So the four went out, filled in the forms and re-entered the office. They handed the woman the forms and she gave them the certificate which signifies the adoption. Naruto picked Kitai up into one arm and Tsuki in the other. He hugged them tight and Hinata joined. The adoption lade could only watch as she saw just how much of a family they truly were, she was about to cry but held in back. She then waved them goodbye as they left. _That's one boy who has found a true family, too bad I can't say that for the rest…_

_**One week later…**_

"Hinata. Hinata! I need to speak with you. It's important." Naruto was searching throughout the house for his wife. She eventually came in, as she had been out in the garden searching for herbs.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Hinata had seen the sad expression on Naruto's face as soon as she entered the house.

"I think you better sit down first." They both sat down on the couch in the living room. "One week ago, I sent Sakura, Shino, Kiba and Tenten out on a mission to get information from the north as there had been a lot of suspicious behavior up there. But what they found was totally unexpected. They found Sasuke, or more like he found them. He told them that if we did not surrender, that they would attack and take over Konoha." He paused to look up and see his wife's reaction. She was in shock but he continued. "That is why I must prepare for the worst. I have found a way in which Konoha will win. But to master the technique, takes along time, three months at least. The process needs me to be in complete seclusion so that I can concentrate. I have Kyuubi there to help me."

"Wh-what are you saying?" Tears were now flowing down from he eyes as she subconsciously knew what he was going to say

"What I'm saying is that for the next three months, I will not be around. I'll be locked away somewhere that I'll be able to master the technique. And during this time, I need for you to be strong and look after our children, telling them that I'm doing this for Konoha, and for them. Tell them not to worry, as I know what the risks are."

"Why do you have to be the one to do this?! Why can't it be someone else?!" Hinata shouted in pain as she was now standing up and her eyes red from crying.

"Two reasons... One; because it is my duty as Hokage to protect this village, two; because I have the Kyuubi inside of me. I'll need his strength and chakra for it and I'll need his healing abilities as well. There is no other way… I'm sorry…" Naruto tried to comfort her but she wouldn't let him. Instead she ran up to the bedroom and cried into the pillow.

Naruto knew that she would react like this but he had no choice. Now it was just a matter of telling Neji.

_**At the Hyuuga complex…**_

He had knocked on the door and one of the servants answered the door. She lead him into the head's office. When he entered he sat down on the opposite side of the desk to which Neji was sitting.

"What brings you here, Hokage-sama?" Neji asked cheerfully.

"A matter of most importance." At this, Neji's expression changed from that of a friendly one to that of a serious one. "You see…" Naruto told him about what Sakura and the others had found and he told him what Sasuke had said.

"So you have a plan?"

"Yes… but it must only be used as a last resort. You see, Kyuubi had told me about this technique that would defeat Orochimaru and Sasuke, but in order to master it I must be kept in seclusion from everyone else. I won't be able to run Konoha for three months, that is why I have come to you. I want you to substitute me whilst I am away. There is no other way."

Neji's clear eyes were wide open I shock. He didn't know what to say or think.

"So will you agree to this…There is no-one else that I would rather have sitting up in my chair, looking over Konoha then you." Neji gave a solemn nod. 

"Also, I am trusting you with a secret, one which must not be revealed to anyone else. And you must understand my reasons for my decisions… As you know, I have had a guard, going by the name of Shoushi… But that isn't his real name… his real name is actually… Uchiha Itachi… But before you say anything, he is a man that can be trusted, he has proven himself to me and he won't do anything that would effect me, so that is why he will protect Konoha…"

"… I see… Does anyone else know about this?"

"Only Kakashi, Shikamaru and Hinata…"

"Very well… I shall not question your choices… But I shan't be all that happy either, I'm sure you know why."

"I do, and I thank you… But before I go, I must tell you something. When the attack does arrive, don't disturb. Leave me alone until you have seen both Sasuke and Orochimaru. When I have come out, get everyone to safety, I don't want anymore of them getting hurt, especially not by me, for I shall be slightly unstable but I'll still have some control… Also, you must make sure that the women and children are kept safe, have shinobi protect them. You will also need to call for Shikamaru, as he's in Suna. Tell him that I have given you promotion to call him and that we are in desperate need of him… Now, I must go… I wish you luck as I will not be seeing you for a long time…"

"Good Luck my friend."

_**In Itachi's apartment…**_

Itachi had been staring down at a photo he had of his family… He had been doing that for a couple of hours, just thinking… _I'm sorry mother… I'm sorry father… sorry that I couldn't stop before it was too late… I'm sorry that I couldn't control myself… And I'm sorry Sasuke, my brother… sorry for what I have put you through… I can understand why you feel such hatred for me, as I feel the same way about myself. I had hoped that you would be able to defeat me, but you went to Orochimaru for help… Now I cannot let you kill me, as I must protect the village that once meant do much to you… and Naruto…_

_Knock, knock…_

"Come in… Hokage? What are you doing here?"

"I came to ask of you a favour."

"Of course, anything… just tell me what to do."

"Thank you. I want you to train my daughter Tsuki and my son Kitai. I want them to become strong whilst I'm away… Sasuke and Orochimaru are planning on attacking but I don't know when. I need to know that they'll be safe…"

"But… where will you be?"

"I have to go into seclusion. Ask Neji or Hinata about it, I haven't got time to explain, as I need to get going. But I'll be giving my children a gift and want you to teach them how t use it so that they'll be ready… Please protect them, and protect Hinata, but don't worry about me, I know what I'm doing and I'm prepared to do what it takes."

"I guess I can't stop you…"

"No you can't… I have to go now… Thank you and good luck…"

Naruto left and walked over to his house to say goodbye to his children. As he was walking, he took in the surroundings, memorizing every detail, every colour, every shade, careful as to not forget any of it. As he approached the door he took a deep breath and entered. And sure enough as soon as he closed the door, both Tsuki and Kitai had leapt at him and given him a hug. He smiled at their innocence but knew that he would have to tell them. He picked them up and placed them on either side of him on the couch. They smiled at him but they could see that their father had some trouble in saying what was on his mind so they each held one of his arms and hugged them too.

"Whatever it is daddy, you can tell us…" Tsuki said.

"There is something important I have to tell you. I have to go away for a while. I need to train. There is a war approaching and I need to prepare…"

"What?... Where are you going? We want to come with you…"

"I'm sorry… I must go alone to somewhere far away from everyone… Now, I need you two to be strong for your mother… and remember that I love you very much…" 

"Daddy… I don't want you to go!..." Tsuki cried.

"We'll miss you too much!..." Cried Kitai.

"I'm sorry but this is something that I have to do… But before I go, I have something for you too." Naruto took out two gift wrapped boxes and gave one to each of them. "Go on, open it."

Tsuki had received two bladed fans. They had a radius of about one foot and they were made of metal and had sharp blades. On one was the crest of the Hyuuga clan, and on the other, was the crest of the Uzumaki clan. They had fine detailing on each blade along with her name.

Kitai had received two dual swords. They were both just less then a meter long and they also had a crest on each, Hyuuga and Uzumaki. On the handle was Kitai's name engraved with fine detailing around it.

"Wh-why are you giving these to us?" Tsuki questioned, stunned that she was allowed to have a weapon as dangerous as this and Kitai was just speechless.

"Because, I want you to be able to defend yourselves and those you love… But you don't know how to use them, so…"

"Then why did you give them to us if we don't know how to use them?" Tsuki interrupted.

"I was getting to that… anyway, since you don't know how to use them, I have assigned Shoushi to teach whilst I am away. He is to become your sensei and you must listen to him and work hard. He won't tolerate you slacking off, but he is an excellint teacher so that is why. Understood?"

"Uhuh!" They said at the same time.

"Anyway… I must leave now. I have to begin with my… training…" Naruto looked sad again. He gave both his kids a tight hug and a kiss on the forehead before walking upstairs.

_Knock, knock…_

"Can I come in."

"… (sob)… do what you… (sob)… want…"

Naruto entered through the door warily. He went over to where Hinata was lying on the bed, her face facing down on a pillow which had water stains on. He fiddled with her hair, caressing her head. They sat there for a while before Hinata said,

"Be careful Naruto…"

"I will…" He bent down and kissed the back of her head before standing up to leave. Before going through the door he stopped to say, "I love you." Then he closed the door and left, not to be seen for another three months by anyone.


End file.
